L'Espoir
by Little Miss Isabelle
Summary: When his plans go awry, can Auggie pull everything together?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** The only introduction I'll give this is that it's set about two years after the season 1 finale. Hope you like-ey!

**Disclaimer:** I owneth not Covert Affairs (yes, I liketh to talk in fake Old English :).)

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

Auggie Anderson tripped over an errant dress shoe, left carelessly (when had that happened?) in the middle of his walk-in closet. He muttered an angry curse into the emptiness of the room, and sank to the floor in defeat, his legs crumpling beneath him. The pile of neatly folded clothes, headed for Goodwill, flew out of his hands and scattered around him.

Angrily, he dug through the pile and flung the shoe against the wall. It hit with a dull thud, he noticed satisfactorily, and he tried to relax, letting the stress roll off his shoulders.

He usually didn't find himself in this predicament, cleaning out his own closet on a Friday night, but he needed the distraction. After yelling at Stu for offering to pick him up for a (hopefully) stress-free night at Allen's with the tech guys, he wasn't really in the mood to do anything he usually would do.

He had heard the resignation in Stu's voice as he'd protested, then given up. Auggie was a jerk.

And he knew it.

After several minutes of sitting there, in the middle of his closet, trying to pull himself together, he gathered together the articles of clothing together and stuffed them in a stray grocery bag that had been in the corner.

Auggie reached for what he thought was the last article of clothing, and stilled when he realized it was soft cashmere. Lifting the sweater to his nose, he breathed in the smell of Jo Malone Grapefruit and lavender shampoo.

He cursed the tears that pricked the back of his eyes.

He cursed a lot lately.

Auggie couldn't believe she was _still_ wreaking havoc on his life. She had stormed out of his life three weeks and two days ago, and she still had the power to turn him into a mush of a man.

"Auggie! Auggie, c'mon!"

He heard her voice as if it had been yesterday. He could feel the lapping of the ocean against his ankles, could hear the voices of the seagulls. He could smell the salt of the sea and the sand. Annie tugged on his hand urgently, as if this mission was just as important as any sanctioned by Langley, and he could feel her stare boring into him. "Baby, c'mon," she urged.

"Annie…" he had protested, shuffling his feet against the wet sand, his feet sinking down.

She had groaned overdramatically. "I can't believe you've never been to the beach before!" She came back to him then, taking both his hands into her own, and she pushed up on tiptoe, kissing him gently. "C'mon, Auggie. The beach wants to meet you."

He was still caught up in that caress, ready to pull her back for another kiss, but she was already dragging him along the beach, and he stumbled in his effort to keep up.

She had giggled when she looked back at him, and she slowed to a stop. She slipped into his arms, looking up at him adoringly, before she settled at his side.

They walked along the beach, talking about Dani and the girls and dinner plans and the future. It was then that Auggie knew that Annie _was_ his future. Life without her was no life at all. She filled all the empty places in his heart. Annie understood him, challenged him. With Annie, he wasn't just "that blind guy in apartment 4C." He was Auggie, boyfriend extraordinaire.

He'd always had confidence in himself, always known how capable he was, but, with Annie, he felt like he was somebody, somebody she could believe in and love.

She stopped them both, stooping to the sand at their feet. With an eager grin, she brushed the sand off the shell and lifted it to her ear, listening. After a moment, she pressed it to Auggie's ear. "Listen," she said, almost giddy, one hand holding the shell to his ear, the other resting against his bare chest.

As he took in the wonders of the sea with her that afternoon, he fell in love, both with the sea and the girl wrapped in his arms, sharing her simple joys with him. He could imagine sharing a million new wonders with her, and it made him eager to start their future together.

"I love you," he blurted out, in the middle of Annie's babbling about some other oceanic wonder, in the middle of the roar of the sea and the squeals of nearby children. It just felt right, and she needed to know. She slipped into his arms, and he reached up and caressed her cheek gently. The muscles in his face relaxed in a soft, affectionate smile. His thumb settled against her jawbone, and he kissed her sweetly. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers. "I—I know it's kinda sudden, but I think you need to know. I love you. Like crazy."

She grinned back at him, leaning in for a quick kiss. "Love you, too, baby."

"You're not just saying it, for me?"

She laughed at the wounded look on his face. "Did you forget that I'm the one that first kissed you? That first said how I felt about you? Auggie, I'd never lie about that."

A slow smile snaked up his face, and he tucked her back at his side. After they'd walked in silence for a few moments, he teased, "Sooo, Miss Walker. Have you run out of those ocean mysteries you have insisted that I see?"

She grinned and reached for his hand, and they ran along the beach, toward the setting sun and a million new adventures.

As the sweater dropped back into Auggie's lap, he had to remind himself that he wasn't that man anymore, dreaming of eternal bliss and sharing it with his favorite person in the world. Everyone had dubbed Auggie Anderson and Annie Walker as the "new Romeo and Juliet of the Agency," but that had ended the day that Annie had ripped his heart out.

There was no happily-ever-after for Auggie Anderson.

He folded the cashmere sweater and carried it, along with the bag for Goodwill, out to the kitchen. He'd have to leave it on Annie's desk tomorrow. She'd get it when she returned from her mission to South Africa.

With a groan, he realized she was due to arrive back in the States tonight. She'd been mercifully gone the past two weeks, working undercover, but the mission had ended more quickly than they had anticipated.

He fleetingly considered calling off work, but he knew Joan would never buy it. Like it or not, he'd have to learn how to work with Annie Walker.

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><p><strong>AN:** Dun, dun, dunnnnn! I promise this is not a one shot, and I promise there will be a happy ending!

I'm just shocked that nobody has even attempted this, and I've wanted to do it for a while. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hello, everybody! :) Finals are over. :))))) I've had the idea for this chapter for a while now, though, so I wanted to get it out, and then I'll get back to _Dreamer_. I promise! I don't know if any of you have been thinking this or not, but just because I started this definitely does not mean I gave up on _Dreamer_—I just had to let it sit for a while. Don't know if you remember from _Christmas with Auggie_ or not, but there are just some aspects about OCD that I have to let be, and giving _Dreamer_ a breather was just one of them. I'm uber excited to get back to it, though, and hope to have a chapter up really soon, though! So if you've been excited/waiting/whatever for _Dreamer_, it'll be back quite soon! :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Covert Affairs.

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Annie stopped and reached for the lavender cashmere sweater, folded neatly, on her desk. She lifted the sweater to her nose and breathed it in. _How did it still smell like Auggie?_ She must have left it at his place before—before it had ended between them.

She glanced over at tech ops. Auggie was talking to one of his coworkers as he leaned back in his chair. Auggie's headphones dangled around his neck, and it killed her to see him like he always seemed to be—confident, relaxed, that ever-present half-smile quirked. She _missed_ him.

South Africa couldn't take that from her. South Africa couldn't make her forget what it was like, to love Auggie. South Africa couldn't keep her from the tears, keep her from wanting to run back to him, begging him to take her back.

Tears blurred her vision, and she quickly dashed them away. The DPD couldn't see her like this.

This was what was wrong with dating a coworker, dating such a good friend. It had started out good—perfect. The transition from best friend to love-of-her-life had been easily. She'd fallen for Auggie easily.

Fridays had been movie nights. Saturday afternoons had been spent entertaining Chloe and Katia together. Between weekend trips, stolen dates, laughter, holding hands in the park, and dreaming about the future, Annie had fallen helplessly, hopelessly in love.

She sniffed quietly and slipped into her chair at her desk, hoping Jai didn't arrive anytime soon. She wasn't in the mood to pretend everything was okay.

Almost a month ago, Annie had run into Calvin Fletcher. _Calvin_. He had been her first love. She'd fallen hard and fast. A part of her thought that she'd always love Calvin, just a little. Apparently, Calvin had married _Rachel Wyatt_, because they'd been at the mall together, holding hands, sickeningly in love. She nearly shuddered at that. Rachel had been the closest thing to Annie's mortal enemy. And now—now Calvin and Rachel had _quadruplets_. Perfectly gorgeous three-year-olds, with perfect names, each of them. Lily Serena, Clara Evangeline, Patrick Silas, and Zane Henry.

It had both made her ache for a family, for a happily ever after, and convinced her that there was no way she could have that for herself. A mom? Four perfectly adorable kids? Had anyone _seen_ her track record with men?

Much as she missed Auggie, and wanted that future for herself, she wouldn't drag Auggie through another epic failure of a love life.

Annie slipped into the sweater, which surprisingly matched her blouse and skirt, and unlocked the door too her desk to withdraw a file Joan had asked her to translate today. Before she could, she noticed a book sitting on top. While she'd been in South Africa, she'd come across it, and Stu had begged her to pick it up for him. She agreed, but he'd left before she could give it to him.

Annie glanced back at tech ops. It was just Auggie there, now. She almost decided not to go, but she had to learn to work with him sometime, and she was just dropping off a book, for goodness' sake. She needed to thank Auggie for returning her sweater, too.

Taking a deep breath, she locked her desk again and strode purposefully to tech ops.

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><p>He smelled her before he heard her. The smell of grapefruit filled Auggie's office, echoed by hesitant, padded footsteps, and a sense of such joy, such euphoria, filled him. <em>Annie was back.<em> She'd been gone for nearly a month. Moment after moment flashed through his brain—their first kiss, Christmas with Dani and her family, New Years' spent pranking Jai into kissing the new girl, Tessa, under the lingering mistletoe from the Christmas holiday, the first night Annie'd slept over, a thousand afternoons in the park, dinners stolen away from Langley, the day Annie had taught him how to rollerblade in the park—and he swiveled in his chair, a broad grin covering his face. "Hey, ba—"

Then he remembered. Auggie wasn't supposed to love Annie anymore. He couldn't. Not when Annie had broken his heart in two.

His grin quickly disappeared, and his gaze dropped subconsciously to his hands, clasped in his lap.

There was a long pause, and then Annie said, "Hi."

"Hi."

Annie wanted to cry at the terseness in his voice. _She_ had done that to him. All she wanted was to love him forever, to let him sweep her up in his plans of forever, but she had the worst track record ever. She wasn't going to promise forever with Auggie if she couldn't deliver. She _couldn't_ do that to him. "Thank you for returning my sweater," she murmured, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"I figured you'd need it. It's still early March."

It nearly killed her inside, the way he still looked out for her, still wanted the best for her, even though she'd destroyed him inside. Even though his eyes were focused down on his lap, she couldn't help but notice the ache in them, the way he looked like it was impossible to miss anything more than he missed being with her. "Thank you," she whispered, trying to push those thoughts away. They didn't make this any easier.

When they'd broken up three weeks ago, before Annie had left for South Africa, Auggie had _promised_ her that they would still be best friends. It had reassured her then. Now, she didn't know how to even be in the same room as him, much less act like they were old pals again. She didn't even know if she remembered how to be Auggie's pal.

She cleared her throat and glanced around tech ops. Stu was still nowhere in sight. She fiddled with the book in her hands. "Um, hey, Auggie?" she asked, pushing past the lump in her throat. It felt like a crime to ask anything more of him, after everything she'd put him through, but she didn't want to have to make a second trip.

He glanced up in her direction, that open, interested, waiting look on his face that she loved so much. All that was missing was his half-cocky grin. "Yeah?"

She stepped a few feet closer to him. "Can you, uh, can you give this to Stu for me, please?"

He reached his hand out to accept whatever she was offering him. "What is it?"

Annie shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of it. "A book. I mentioned it while I was talking to him in South Africa, and he asked me to pick it up for him."

Auggie nodded and swiveled back to his desk, preparing to return to his work.

Dually dismissed, Annie pushed past the wave of sorrow and turned to leave. She wanted to say something, _anything_, that would repair the rift between them, wider than the Atlantic. When Annie saw how engrossed he already was in his computer, she dropped the thought and began to walk away.

Before Annie reached the open doorway, Jai popped his head in the door. "Hey, guys, c'mon. Mission briefing in the conference room."

Annie glanced back at Auggie, and then at Jai again. She waited to make sure Auggie had heard, and she followed Jai to the conference room. Much as she wanted to take Auggie's arm and guide him to the conference room, sharing jokes and secrets from the night before, she couldn't bear to. Maybe after a couple of weeks of getting used to this life without their love, maybe she could be his friend again. But not today.

Annie settled into a seat to the right of Jai and Joan's secretary, Maren, and she held back her groan when Auggie slipped into the seat to the right of her. She would have done just about anything to not have to sit next to him, but the room was already filled.

As soon as Jai, Annie, and Auggie settled into their seats, Joan began her presentation, and Annie desperately tried to focus on what her boss was saying. Something about vital information being recovered in Paris. Information about a weapons deal that would go down in Russia in a few days. There would be a drop pass.

Annie listened as Joan droned on about how the information was recovered, how the information would be passed off via a couple this time. Both the agents in place in Paris already and Joan agreed that it would be less conspicuous for two couples to pass each other in Paris than just one person.

Annie was about to block Joan out completely when she announced, "Annie! Auggie! You're going in."

The color drained from Annie's cheeks as she glanced first at Joan, and then at Auggie. The horror on his face mirrored exactly how she felt. "B-both of us?" she managed to say.

"Yes, Annie," Joan said, not seeming to notice how much the pair were against the idea. "You and Auggie have had chemistry here from day one. Auggie's always begging me to go back out into the field, and this is a perfect opportunity for him to do so. We don't expect any complications. Just get in, get out, get back home. Your plane leaves in three hours."

That was their cue that the meeting was over. Annie glanced at Auggie again. She wanted to cry. How could Joan make them do this?

Annie bit her lip and reached out, touching Auggie's upper arm gently. "Hey. Do you need to go pack? I need to drop by the guesthouse to pick up something more appropriate for France. I can drop you off at your apartment on the way."

Slowly, Auggie fished his laser cane out of his pocket and grabbed his copy of the case file before he accepted her hand to help him up. As they reached the front entrance to Langley, Annie reached out and slipped her hand around Auggie's bicep, hugging him close. It wasn't so much that she was trying to heal their relationship, trying to make things better—she just couldn't stay away from him any longer.

Annie deposited him off at the passenger side, and he slipped into his seat as she rounded her car. As she buckled her seatbelt and pulled out of the parking lot, she turned to glance at Auggie. She couldn't believe how long it'd been since he'd sat there, next to her, in her little red car. The last time, Auggie had insisted on holding her hand the whole way, and he'd teased her mercilessly about her inability to curl her tongue. She still wasn't sure how he knew she couldn't do that.

She pushed the thought from her mind. "So. Tell me about our covers," she said, hoping he had been paying more attention to Joan than she had.

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><p><strong>AN:** Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I'll be switching between this and the other stories I'm working on, as I have time. I did start my internship yesterday, so I'll have less time than I had the last two weeks, but I still feel fairly confident that I'll get chapters posted to my stories fairly regularly. :) I think I'll know more by the end of this week. :)

Oh, and pretty please… leave a review? I'm still trying to gauge how everyone feels about this story, and it seems like reviews and even the number of views has been dwindling. :*( Thanks!

**Disclaimer:** Covert Affairs no es mio!

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

Auggie settled into his seat in economy class. Shifting uncomfortably, he felt around for his seatbelt and clicked it into place. He hated flying economy. He'd forgotten how much he hated it. He hadn't had to remember for years—the last time he'd flown for the CIA, it had been nearly four years ago. On the few times he'd gone home since he lost his vision, he'd always opted for first class.

The cramped space only served to worsen his mood. Annie was too close for comfort, her shoulder brushing his, the citrus scent of her grapefruit perfume filling the air. The pain was almost more than he could bear—he couldn't stop loving Annie, and yet, he had to be this close to her, sharing her space, breathing her in. He could hear the sound of Mingus coming from her iPod. In the past, she would have offered him one of her earbuds.

Without even trying, his mind drifted to the afternoon he'd convinced Joan to help him pick out a ring for Annie. By then, Auggie and Annie had been dating for nearly nine months, and even though they hadn't discussed it, Auggie knew. He and Annie were meant to get married and have their perfect happily-ever-after, have their own small brood of children, and eventually be the cutest little old couple ever. It had gotten to the point that he couldn't wait for Annie to bring up marriage or beg to look at rings. He couldn't wait any longer for happily-ever-after.

He'd dragged Joan to just about every jewelry store in the whole D. C. area. He refused to stop until he found the perfect ring, and he was nearly convinced that Joan would strangle him for that.

Moments before the last store closed for the day, he settled on a simple silver band with a single shimmering diamond, with one perfect, smaller aquamarine on each side of the diamond. They had gone on their first date in March. Joan had approved of the ring, promising it was "perfect" and that Annie would love it. Auggie bought the ring, and Joan dropped Auggie off at his apartment.

As he showered and dressed for his date with Annie, he couldn't help feeling that nothing had ever felt as right as this. He and Annie _had_ to get married. How could she say no? No one was more in love than the two of them were.

Annie nudged his shoulder again, pulling him back to the present, and he instinctively pulled away from her. "Aug, do you want a drink?" she repeated.

He glanced in the direction of what he hoped was the flight attendant. "No, thanks. I'm good."

The attendant handed Annie and the woman to the left of Auggie their drinks, and she moved down the aisle.

Auggie returned to his memories. He hadn't asked Annie to marry him that night. He still didn't know how to ask her. He wanted it to be intimate, yet extravagant. Dinner at a nice, family-centered Mexican restaurant and the latest spy movie at the local movie theater (at Annie's insistence) qualified as neither.

Still, he'd kept the ring in his pocket, should the perfect moment arise, and every few moments, he found his hand slipping back into his pocket, feeling the contours of that velvet black box.

The perfect plan for the perfect moment came six days later. It was perfect in its simplicity.

"Hey, Annie," he'd said, hoping his voice sounded nonchalant, even as his wide grin and twinkling eyes gave him away, "let's go to the beach this weekend." It was already late Friday afternoon. And it was the middle of March.

She must have stared at him like he was an idiot, because he could feel her glare boring into him. He reached out instinctively, catching her hands in his, and he intertwined their fingers. "C'mon, baby," he pled. "I just want to get away with you."

She snorted. "Did that line make other girls swoon?"

_Did she really think he wasn't being serious?_ The idea of spending a weekend in Ocean City with Annie, walking along the deserted beach, talking, sleeping in late, making Annie breakfast in bed, dinner Saturday evening at their favorite seafood place, and, best of all, the proposal—Annie saying _yes_ to the proposal—how could she think he was just flirting and joking? "Annie, I'm serious…"

She saw the fire, the passion, in his eyes, and she paused. How was it possible that he could say so much, with one look, and he couldn't even appreciate it? She took a hesitant step forward and pressed her lips to his in a slow, happy kiss. "You're serious, aren't you?" she whispered in awe.

He wanted to groan. Hadn't he just said that? How was it possible that she couldn't see how crazy he was about her? He could barely breathe, much less try and be cute. He couldn't live without Annie.

He freed one of his hands to cup her jaw softly. "Babe, c'mon," he whispered. "Let's go. It's the weekend. And neither of us has a mission to work on. Please."

A slow, easy smile crossed her face. She leaned in, kissing him slowly, and Auggie knew in that moment that he didn't need eyes to know when Annie was happy, truly, completely, unbelievably happy. "Yes," she whispered, as she rested her forehead against his, and he knew she was doing that thing she always did after they kissed—staring into his eyes, sharing her joy with him, as if he couldn't be any different from any other perfect guy out there.

It didn't take long for them to pack—Auggie was already ready before they left Langley (call it hopeful thinking), and the thought of spending a weekend alone with Auggie-the-Romantic was enough to make Annie have her own bag packed quicker than it took to hear Dani gushing about their weekend (all the more reason to pack quickly).

With weekend and evening traffic, the trip took nearly four hours, and they arrived in time to grab take-out from a local Taco Bell before continuing to their destination, the Walker family trailer home, arriving at nearly nine o'clock.

If Auggie had paid attention the following hours until they'd gone for a walk on the beach that Saturday, late afternoon, he would have noticed that Annie had become both increasingly emotional and distant, as the minutes of his bliss ticked by. Time with Annie was like gold, and he loved every minute of it. He wrote off her moodiness as lack of sleep from all the missions Joan had sent her on lately.

But when they walked down the beach, Annie clung to him, tucked at his side, like there couldn't be anything more perfect than the two of them falling in love, and he kept on thinking everything was right in the world. How could it not be, with their love blooming, for the world to see?

Then she looked up at him, kissed his shoulder gently, like she always did when she was both demure and affectionate, and she snuggled closer. "Auggie, have you ever thought about being a dad?" she blurted, and his heart hammered in his chest. How could that _not_ be a sign?

So he told her. Everything. About how he wanted nothing more than to be a daddy some day, married to Annie, and together, they'd grow old in their bliss. "And we'll have seven perfect little babies. Lily, Josiah, Isabelle, Olivia, Zane, Caleb, and Grayson," he teased, noticing that she pulled away from him a little at the mention of Lily and Zane.

"Oh, you figured this all out, did you?" she said.

He flashed her one of his charmer grins, and he said, "Sure I figured it out. If there's one thing in the world I'm sure about, it's you and me. And someday, you'll be the best mom in the world, and then everything you've ever doubted won't mean a thing."

She wrenched away from him, and he stumbled, missing the warmth of her body tucked against his. "Annie, what's the matter?"

He could hear her single, strangled sob several yards in front of him, muffled by her hands in front of her face, over the roaring of the waves and the painful thudding in his heart. What was she doing? And what was the matter?

"Aug, I—I can't do this anymore!"

What was she saying? "Do _what_ anymore, Annie?"

"This!" she shouted across to him. "You and me! I just—I can't." She paused, her chest heaving from her emotional agony. "We're done."

"We're _done_?" Auggie roared, anger and broken despair vying for control. "You can't just up and say, '_we're done_!' I _love_ you, Annie! You can't just decide to walk out! That's not how this works. _You_ were the one that said you wanted to give this a go, remember? You were the one who insisted you loved me just as much as I loved you, when I told you I loved you, right here, on this beach! How could you forget that? How could you forget _us?_" All he wanted to do was drop to the ground and cry. What was Annie thinking? Where was she coming from? Twenty-four hours ago, she had been madly in love with him!

"I _didn't_ forget us!" she shouted back, her sobs almost overtaking her voice. "Do you think I could really forget us? I'm doing this for us, Auggie. You may not see it now, but I am."

He sank down into the sand. "All those memories… Teaching Katia to ride her bike without training wheels, Thanksgiving with your family, our first kiss… falling asleep under our Christmas tree… what—what was that, Annie? Was any of this real?"

Annie buried her face in her hands and sank to the ground away from him. "All of it was real," she whispered, wondering if he would hear.

They sat there, in the sand, until the sun sank behind the sea. Then Annie rose to her feet, called out, "C'mon, Aug," and guided him back to the trailer.

Just before she pushed the door open, Annie whispered, "Auggie, will you still be my friend?" It mattered. More than she could say. Even if she couldn't make a relationship work, she still needed Auggie, still needed her best friend, to set her straight in the world. When she saw the pained look on his face, though, she wanted to die.

"I don't know, Annie."

"Please," she whispered, and her voice cracked.

"Give it time, Annie," was all he said. They had packed up everything and gone home that same night. It was only when he was back in the safety of his apartment and the tears had already begun to flow did he remember the black velvet box, still hidden in his pocket. Annie would never know.

As his lingering memories faded and Auggie realized where he was, a wave of grief washed over him anew. How was it possible that he wasn't allowed to love Annie anymore?

Annie was the very air he breathed. The past month had been torture. He didn't know how to survive without loving her, without sharing his life with her. Silent tears blazed down his cheeks, and he did nothing to stop them. Not this time. He couldn't hold the pain, the anger, the loneliness, back anymore. Annie had stolen every good part of his life, and the worst part was, he didn't even know why.

With those bleak thoughts filling his mind, he let the hum of the cabin and the murmur of the people lull him into a fitful sleep.

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><p>Annie stifled a yawn quietly and gingerly stretched. Whenever she woke up after sleeping in a plane, she always had cricks and cramps in all the wrong places.<p>

Her left balled fist contacted with the scruffy skin of a man's jaw, and she pulled back, eyes flying open. Her heart thudded in her chest when she saw who it was.

Auggie. Snoring adorably next to her, his head drooping down onto her shoulder. Tears blurred her vision. What wouldn't she give for everything to go back to how it was?

She reached out tentatively, threading her fingers through his gorgeous, dark hair. "I still love you, you know," she whispered. "More than you could ever know. So much it hurts. So much I think my heart's going to rip itself out of my chest and strangle me."

But Auggie hadn't been there when Annie saw Rachel and Calvin. Auggie hadn't been there when Rachel attacked Annie all over again, calling her a slut and a failure of a woman when Calvin wasn't within earshot. Auggie hadn't been there when Calvin had teased her about who her newest guy was, and why wasn't she married yet? Of course, Rachel brought up all the reasons why Annie and Calvin had never worked out—why every relationship Annie had ever had had not worked out. Annie was strong, but Annie wasn't _that_ strong, and by the time Rachel let up for a minute, Annie was sure she was going to cry in the middle of Walmart, in the presence of her first love and her mortal enemy and their four precious little children. Sensing her discomfort, Calvin had guided her to their cart, to meet Calvin and Rachel's quadruplets. Annie nearly returned to her usual self, talking to Lily, Clara, Patrick, and Zane, laughing, teasing them, when she overheard Rachel's voice. "Calvin, I don't want her around them." Annie caught the fierce glare Calvin sent his wife, but Rachel's voice only got louder. "No, Calvin, I'm serious. I don't want her around my children! She's irresponsible and cruel and a failure and a _slut_…"

"Rachel!"

But the damage had been done. Annie ran away, face buried in her hands. The accusations had ripped her apart on the inside. As the days passed, they festered and oozed. They wouldn't have impacted her so much if she didn't already believe half of it was true. All her relationships were utter failures—why would her relationship with Auggie be anything else? It had all climaxed when Auggie talked about having their own brood of children and living together far into infinity. Something inside her snapped—especially when he said _Lily_ and _Zane_—and she knew she couldn't do this anymore. For Auggie's sake, she couldn't let him fall for her any more. She'd break his heart eventually. She'd been convinced of it.

Now—now she just wanted Auggie back. Now, she just wanted a chance at love again. A chance at that happily-ever-after it seemed like everyone except for Annie Walker was allowed to have. She still had no clue how to make a long-term relationship work—really work—but she wanted love back, more than anything.

Leaning a few inches closer, she pressed a soft kiss to Auggie's cheek. The roughness of his five o'clock shadow was familiar and full with a million memories of better times. "I love you," she whispered. _I don't want to let you go._

Giving in to the impulse, she slid her arm around his bicep, hugging his arm, as she snuggled against his side and dropped her head to his shoulder. Just sitting there, next to him, breathing in the smell of his cologne, made the world feel a million times more right.

Her eyes drooped shut once more, and, dozens of happier memories filling her mind, she drifted off into an easy sleep.

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><p><strong>AN:** Beth – Geek Chick mentioned that she wanted to know what had happened between Annie and Auggie, and it's been coming for a while now. I hope this sufficiently answers all your questions. :)

Review please! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Hello, everybody! Once again. I know I said I'd be switching between stories, but I've been having troubles with Dreamer, so I figured I would take a mini break. Not too long, though, don't worry. Just a couple days. :) In the meanwhile, I've been working on this, and I'm very excited about these last two chapters and a wee little epilogue! Hope you enjoy them!

**Disclaimer:** Covert Affairs no es mio!

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

Annie dropped her overnight bag on the floor by the door. The drop pass wouldn't take place until tomorrow afternoon, anyway, and they could use the sleep, especially after the long flight. She watched as Auggie walked into the room, studying the room with his cane, gauging where everything was. She tried to push away the thoughts of how it _would_ have been, a month ago. They would have gladly welcomed a CIA-sanctioned mission to Paris together. Now—now they were like enemies, sequestered in a room together.

"Aug—" She stopped when she saw him look up, frustration, anger, and sadness in his eyes. She had never known him to be so emotional, but these days, it was as if he wore his emotions on his sleeve. It stopped her for just a moment. "Auggie, are you hungry?"

He turned away from her, digging through his bag. "No." After he grabbed a change of clothes, he disappeared into the connecting bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Annie sighed and dropped onto her bed, hugging one of the pillows. She felt horrible that she could cause so much pain to the one man she loved more than anyone in the world, but why did he have to treat her like dirt? It wasn't like she'd _wanted_ to be the bad guy, to be the one that ripped his heart out. She hadn't wanted any of this!

Maybe she was doomed to ruin every relationship.

But that didn't mean Auggie should treat her like a dog for it, right?

When he emerged from the bathroom, she spoke up. "Aug, we need to talk."

Sensing she was talking about where they stood, he tucked his clothes back in his suitcase and climbed in his bed. "I have nothing to say to you."

That only fueled her anger. "Well, I have something to say to you."

She watched as he rolled his eyes and turned to face the wall. Her voice rose in frustration. "Auggie! I know things ended badly between us. I know—"

He whipped around to face her, scowling. "Shhh! We're still undercover!"

She lowered her voice again, as tears blurred her vision. "Auggie, I _know_ how much I hurt you," she whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. She reached out and squeezed his arm gently. "I know I'm the bad guy… but why… why do you have to treat me like I'm the plague? Long before we were a couple, we were still best friends. And way back then, you promised that we'd always be friends, even if this didn't work out. I didn't even want to think about it, but you made me promise. And I did. But now—Auggie, why are you—why are you doing this to me?" She wiped away her tears with her balled fists, and she stared at him, watching his emotions roil across his face.

"Oh, you want to talk about who's at fault?" he hissed back to her. "Let's talk about the day you went from acting like you couldn't imagine anything better than loving me, and then… after talking about starting a family, no less, you dump me, right on the side of the ocean, where you _promised_ me you loved me. What happened to that love, Annie? How can that just _change_ for you? How could you go from loving me to not even caring about me in the slightest? We _were_ best friends, Annie. _Were_. Best friends don't promise that they'll love each other forever, and then tell them it's over. Best friends don't rip each other's hearts out. And best friends certainly don't do it on the day that I was going to—"

He stopped himself. Chest heaving with his emotions, he rubbed his face. He had almost told her. Almost. But he'd stopped himself. He couldn't, _wouldn't_, tell her that he had been seconds away from proposing to her. He wouldn't let her get under his skin like that. He couldn't let her have that power. He couldn't let himself get sucked in by her sweet, sweet power over him.

He sighed. "Forget it."

Annie studied him. "On the day you were going to what? What were you going to say, Auggie?"

He rolled his eyes. "Forget it, Annie."

Suddenly, she was desperate to know. Was there something more going on, more besides Auggie grieving over the loss of her? She shook his shoulder. "Auggie. Tell me."

He shook her hand off his shoulder. "No, Annie. There's _nothing_ I need to tell you. We're _over_. Whatever we shared—it sailed the day you decided you didn't love me enough to let me in, when you decided whatever barrier there was between us, it wasn't worth trying to tear it down. I don't owe you _anything_."

Angrily, he jerked the covers up over his shoulder, and he turned away from her. Tears blurring her eyes, Annie tiptoed back to her own bed, not even bothering to change into more comfortable pajamas. As she pulled her covers over her weary, tired frame, Auggie listened to the sounds of her sobs as she cried herself to sleep.

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><p>Annie slipped her arms around Auggie's waist affectionately as they stepped out of the cab and onto Champs-Élysées. His arm automatically wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned in closer to his side. They looked like any adoring couple sauntering the street.<p>

It was nearly two o'clock in the afternoon. The drop pass wasn't set to go down until almost three, but Annie wanted to give them enough time, especially since Auggie hadn't been to France since he was a teenager. She wasn't sure how he would take being on the busy streets of Paris, especially Champs-Élysées, which never seemed to sleep.

They walked that way, mostly in silence, for a while, Annie stopping him to look into a few of the shops every now and then. Auggie had been rigid, the cool anger from the night before still controlling him, but as they walked, Annie tucked at his side, she watched the tension roll from his shoulders.

She was doing that thing that she always did when her arms were around him like this, that thing he secretly loved, when she gently caressed his side with her thumb, as if nothing had changed between them. At first it made him livid—how could she pretend nothing had changed?—but when she didn't give it up, he couldn't help but lean into the gentle caress. It was almost—healing—as if that one gentle touch could heal everything wrong with his heart. Annie was in his arms. True, it was just a mission, but if _anything_ could lessen the wrenching pain he felt every second, that had to be something, right?

They had been walking for nearly half an hour when Annie spoke next to him, her voice barely more than a whisper. "It's not what you think, you know."

He opened his mouth to respond, to ask her what she was talking about, but she was already talking again, her voice soft. "I did it for you. I don't think I'm the kind of girl you think I am. I might have been a good girlfriend—even a great one—for a while, but it never lasts, Auggie. I can't make long-term relationships work. No matter how hard I've tried. I'm a failure in that department. I would much prefer to break your heart now, than to break your heart after a few years of marriage, with an adorable little three-year-old's heart to break."

"Annie… you wouldn't—"

"I would. Why do you think Ben ran away? Why do you think I never talk about former relationships? I'm _still_ trying to escape them. Leading you on wasn't fair."

He stopped her, turned her to face him. "Annie—you weren't leading me on—you were in love! You told me that a million times. And of _course_ I know you. I knew you for years before you ever asked me to give this a try. I knew all your romantic woes. Did you ever stop to think that those relationships didn't work out because they weren't the right guys? They were jerks, Annie. All of them. You and me, we were _perfect_ together!"

Tears misted in her eyes. He was so sure. "How do you know? How could you possibly have known that?"

"Because I was going to marry you!" He could feel the tears forming in his eyes, and he wanted to curse them. He usually wasn't such an emotional man. His cheeks flamed at the admission. What happened to that vow that she would never know?

Annie stared at him. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

"I had the ring, that afternoon, on the beach. Joan helped me pick it out. It was perfect, Annie, and we were perfect, and our future was going to be perfect, and you ruined it all!"

She wanted to say something, to respond, but tears were forming in her eyes, and she didn't know what to say. Auggie was going to propose? At that exact moment that she broke his heart forever? No wonder he was so angry, so frustrated, so sad. She couldn't help imagining their future together—it _would have been perfect_. Auggie would have been the perfect husband, the perfect father. He would have known how to battle all of her misgivings, her lack of self-confidence. Their life would have been perfect together, because Auggie was just that perfect. How could she have given up on a life of forever love with Auggie? She was an idiot.

The words _I'm sorry_ were on the tip of her tongue—she would have done anything to make it right. She felt like a total heel for not trusting what their relationship could have been. Why didn't she just talk to Auggie about it in the first place?

But she couldn't say any of those things, couldn't even try and make anything right, because the other couple was only a few feet away—Annie knew, because they were wearing those same ridiculous scarves, too—and Auggie was trying to get her to bare her soul. "Auggie," she groaned, slipping back into place as she found the flash drive in her pocket. She fingered it, feeling its memorized contours. As the couple passed Annie and Auggie, the woman's shoulder brushing against Annie's, the woman murmured, "Désolée," and Annie dropped the flash drive into the woman's bag inconspicuously. As they continued walking, Annie reached into her bag, finding the new flash drive.

When Annie would have kept walking, found a cab, and collected her things back at the hotel room, Auggie reached out, stopping her. "Annie—where is this coming from? Since when do you just give up on something good? Since when do you get to make all the decisions between us?"

Tears blurred her vision, just at the thought of her encounter with Rachel. "I saw Rachel several weeks ago."

He gave her a confused look. "Evil Rachel?"

She nodded against his shoulder. They were still walking in each other's arms, keeping up their cover as best as they could. "Yeah. She—she married Calvin."

"Who's Calvin?"

"Oh, uh—he was my first boyfriend. I can't believe he sold out and married her. He was such a great guy." She glanced up at him. He seemed to be listening still. "I don't know what happened—one minute I was saying hi to them, hoping Rachel had changed, meeting their kids. The next thing I know, Calvin's going off to get some food item for Rachel, and _bam_, she lays into me, calling me irresponsible and a slut and a failure of a woman, and I mean, I guess I was expecting it. I don't know what she's had against me, all these years. Anyway, then Calvin comes back, and starts teasing me about who my latest guy was, and why wasn't I married yet… and I dunno, it was starting to get to me, but I tried to ignore it. Then Rachel started making up all these excuses for why Calvin and I never worked out, and really, they were _awful_ reasons, and nothing like the truth… Calvin tried to stop her, but she wouldn't get the hint. She was just… awful. And then Calvin tried to get in between the two of us, offering to introduce me to his kids, and Auggie, they were so adorable. I thought I might get out of there without bawling my eyes out in front of them… and then I overheard Rachel talking to Calvin, and she was saying all these truly awful things, like how she didn't want me around her kids, and how I was a slut and a loser and irresponsible and uncaring and I… I just ran away. I tried to let it go, but I just… I started to believe it, after everything, and I didn't want to bring you down with me… and then you mentioned Lily and Zane on the beach, and those were two of Calvin's kids, and I just lost it. I thought it'd be better for you, if you didn't have to live with me."

Tears pooled in her eyes, and she covered her face with her hands. Why was she sharing all of this with him? Life as Annie and Auggie, the newest powerhouse couple of the CIA, was over. She was just Annie now, fighting her way through life.

She stilled when Auggie pulled her into his arms. She'd forgotten how good it felt to be held by Auggie. He was all strength and protection and tenderness, and his cologne smelled _so_ good. She'd forgotten how much she loved his cologne, how much she loved everything about this man.

She freed her arms, pinned between them, and wrapped them around his waist, hugging him tighter. A few more tears seeped through, and she buried her face in his chest, hiding in his embrace. She felt the gentle pressure of his lips against her hair.

Oh, how she'd missed this.

He didn't say anything, didn't try and tell her she was wrong. He just held her, rubbing her back, for a small infinity, and then he took her hand, and they found a cab back to their hotel room.

He still couldn't believe all of this was over some ridiculous lies Rachel had spewed. He couldn't believe all of this was because Annie was trying to save him from her. If that was the case—there still was hope. There had to be. Hope for friendship, hope for love again, maybe. And if he was really hopeful, maybe hope for forever. He still had a million questions, a million issues, with what she'd done—how could she give up on them so easily?—but he had hope, and that's all he'd wanted, in the end. Hope that he would be allowed to love Annie again. He'd never moved on, never even tried, because it was impossible to believe that a life without Annie Walker in it could exist. Annie was his hope.

After they were seated in their plane in a terminal at Charles de Gaulle a few hours later, Auggie turned to her and teased, "Hey, you finally made it through your first drop pass without an international incident!"

She rolled her eyes and grinned. Somehow, she knew that they would be okay.

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><p><strong>AN:** There is one chapter left! I'm still not sure how I feel about this one, but it was an experiment for me, and I am pretty happy how it's come out so far. Not as happy as my stories usually are, but I hope the ending is worth it. :) Please review and let me know what you think!

And btw, I do think I might have this one done before the season 2 premiere on Tuesday! (Is anyone as THRILLED as I am?)


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Covert Affairs no es mio!

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

Nearly a month later, the DPD had noticed a marked difference in Annie's and Auggie's relationship. The pair laughed and teased each other, and Annie, once again, guided Auggie around Langley.

Everyone assumed that Annie and Auggie got back together on their trip to Paris, but, for the moment, they'd been taking their time to repair their friendship. Even though something changed between them in Paris, they'd still had a lot of issues to work through, and Annie was just grateful that Auggie was talking to her, much less hanging out with her, sharing his secrets again, making her laugh. She never wanted to take Auggie for granted ever again.

Auggie wanted more with Annie, but he didn't want to force her. Even though everyone thought they were already back together, he knew Annie needed time—time to heal, to get over what Rachel had said. Much as he loved Annie, he didn't want to rush back to her, like a needy, pathetic loser (even though he was, and he knew it).

But now it was a month later, and Annie was back to her cheerful, mostly happy, pep-talk giving, glorious self, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could stand Annie being his _best friend_, rather than his _girlfriend_. He missed her.

So that Friday, after he finished up a mission as Jai's handler while he was in Greece, he stowed his headphones and a file Joan had given him earlier that day, and he was about to go in search of Annie when he heard the sound of her Christian Louboutins on his floor. "Annie!" He nearly lost his nerve when he heard her heels tapping across the floor, but he wanted this, needed this.

Annie grinned. "Hey, soldier boy! Ready to leave for the night?"

He beckoned to her with a nod of his head. "C'mere."

Giving him a curious look, she obliged, sitting in the extra seat next to his desk. He reached out, searching for her hands, and she placed them in his as she studied his face curiously. "Auggie—"

"Annie," he said, gently caressing the backs of her hands with his thumbs. "I need to talk to you about something. But please don't freak out."

She studied the nervous expressions on his face. _What was Auggie up to?_

"Annie, will you go out on date with me? Really, really soon?"

_He wanted to get back together?_ She couldn't help the slow, broad smile that covered her face. He looked so adorable, sitting there, nervously waiting for her answer. He always seemed to see everything but the most important things. True, she had been the one to break it off in the first place, but hadn't he noticed anything that happened in the last month? She _loved_ him, had done her best to show that to him. Still, he was so adorably nervous about the prospect of Annie saying no.

She was about to respond, to tell him her resounding yes, when he began his nervous rambling. She'd forgotten how much she loved that, too.

"Annie, I know you had misgivings the first time, and I know what Rachel said, but Annie, baby…" The way he said _baby_ nearly did her in. "I love you. Like, _really_ love you. My life was perfect with you in it. Babe, I never moved on, because I couldn't move on without you, but… Annie, you're everything to me. I love the way your giggle fills my apartment, and the way you're so optimistic despite all the adversity and evil you've seen, and the way you hide in my arms after a bad day, and how your lame jokes light up my life, and how you belt out songs going down the highway with your windows down, and how you pull me back into life, and, Annie, you're just so good, and kind, and sweet, and beautiful, and happy, and Annie, I just—I don't think I could breathe without you…"

She watched, shocked, as tears filled his sightless eyes. Auggie was _crying_ for her?

It didn't fit any image she'd ever had of Auggie, or a man, for that matter, but sitting there in that split second, watching the man she loved sitting across from her, tears pouring down his cheeks as he sniffed and still caressed her hands, as if he couldn't bear to let go, she believed it. Completely. A feeling of such love, passion, protection, and need came over her. She _needed_ to love Auggie. She _needed_ to fall completely, hopelessly in love with him.

Annie threw herself into his arms, hugging her arms around his neck tightly. She trusted him to catch her in his arms, and he did. "Yes, Auggie. Yes. Yes." She repeated the words over and over, right next to his ear, hardly believing it was true, hardly believing that Auggie could still love her so completely. She still couldn't believe he'd worn his emotion on his sleeve like that. She'd only ever known him to be a macho-macho man, and his emotion only made her love him a million times more.

She eased back several inches, and she watched his eyes as they searched hers, almost frantically, for several moments. It nearly killed her that he couldn't see the reassurance, the joy, the hope, shining back in her own eyes. She reached up and gently wiped the tears from his eyes. He flinched away at first, but when her cool, gentle hands wiped away his offending tears, he sat still, letting her work her magic. He managed a weak smile for her.

She smiled back, tremulously, nearly crying herself. "I love you," she whispered. Annie let her hands drop to frame his face, and she leaned in, brushing a whisper of a kiss against his lips. The feel of his lips on hers, once again, after those few months apart, was like electricity. How had she lived without this, without being in Auggie's arms?

He kissed her back, hungrily, and pulled her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tighter. Life with Auggie was perfect.

Before the kiss could get too heated, she pulled away. She already missed the contact. Annie touched her forehead to his, like she always used to do, and she reached for his hands, holding them in her own. "Auggie?"

"Hmm?" He couldn't believe she was still talking to him, much less kissing him, after the fool he'd made of himself just a few minutes ago. Seriously, where had those tears come from?

"I—I want this more than anything, Auggie, but… I'm gonna need to take this slow." She studied the expression in his eyes. "I think… I believe everything you've been trying to say, but—parts of me need a chance to catch up. I think there could be nothing better than you and me, together, forever… but it hasn't been easy for me to let go everything Rachel said."

He grinned slowly and freed one hand, caressing her cheek with it. "I'll show you how to forget everything," he said softly.

She knew it wasn't a corny pick-up line or a way to get into her pants—he truly meant it. Somehow, he'd help her forget all her demons. Though she was tempted to laugh at his uncharacteristically un-suave line, she resisted, leaning forward and kissing him softly, once more.

When they pulled apart, Annie stood to her feet, relinquishing her position on his lap, and she reached for his hand, tugging him to his feet. "Where are we going?" he asked.

She slipped her arm around his waist and wrapped his arm around her shoulders with her free hand. As she snuggled in next to his side, Annie grinned up at him. "I'm taking you home, soldier boy."

"Already?" he protested. "It's barely nine o'clock!"

She laughed. "You have the best second first-date ever to plan, remember? And I promised the girls I'd read them a bedtime story. Dani's already sent me seven death-threat texts."

Auggie laughed at that. Maybe soon, he could come along, and help tell the bedtime stories. He missed being a part of the Brooks' family's lives.

As Annie and Auggie walked in each other's arms toward where Annie's car was parked, Joan crossed her arms over her chest and grinned from her dimly lit office as she watched Auggie whisper something in Annie's ear, before he planted a soft kiss against Annie's cheek.

She had known it was a good idea to send those two to Paris.

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><p><strong>AN:** Only the epilogue is left! Which I'm very excited about. :) I hope you are, too. :)

Please leave me a review, and let me know what you think! :)))))


	6. Epilogue

**A/N:** Okay, here it is! The epilogue, and as I promised, before the season finale (barely!). Hope you like it. :)

Oh, and pretty, pretty please… leave a review! I love seeing that people are reading my stories, but it really doesn't help unless I know what people are thinking. :*(

**Disclaimer:** Covert Affairs no es mio!

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><p>Epilogue<p>

Auggie woke to the realization that Annie wasn't in bed next to him. he felt the bed around him. "Annie?" he called into the early-morning stillness of the apartment.

He smiled as he thought back to the night before. Annie had shown up at his front door, carrying a grocery bag. "Hi," she'd greeted with a grin. He always knew she was grinning, because her voice sang with a glorious little lilt, and it made him grin in response. He reached out and found her face easily. He leaned in, his lips finding hers. She tasted like candy canes and gingersnaps. The kiss, like always, was breathtaking and perfect.

"Hi," he'd whispered with a smile, letting his right hand trail down her arm until he intertwined her fingers with his. With a little tug, he pulled her into his apartment. "So what do I owe for this visit, Miss Walker?"

She giggled and handed him the grocery bag. He groaned when he caught its weight. "What's in here?"

She rolled her eyes and tugged him into the kitchen. "We're gonna make a gingerbread house."

"A gingerbread house?" he'd questioned. It was late February. She just scoffed.

They spent the following three hours making their gingerbread house from scratch, getting dough, icing, and candies more over themselves and all over Auggie's kitchen instead of on the actual gingerbread house. He would have given nearly anything to see Annie, covered in flour, nose dotted with fluffy white frosting, her blond hair mussed adorably, laughter filling her eyes. It would have to be enough to be here, to experience this, with her.

After they'd managed to clean up the majority of his kitchen, and the gingerbread house was safely stowed in an empty corner of his refrigerator, they'd settled onto the couch, watching Christmas movie after Christmas movie (at Annie's insistence).

Auggie sat up in bed, putting the pillows back at the head of the bed, and he tried to rearrange the sheets and blankets to a more organized fashion. Just when he was about to get out of bed and go in search of her, he heard her soft, padded footsteps coming toward him.

She climbed up onto the bed next to him and leaned in a few inches, kissing him good morning. "Hey, sleepy head," she whispered with a grin.

His hands were resting on her hips, and he couldn't help but recognize the familiar material. "Are you wearing my shirt?"

She grinned. "Maybe."

His mind wandered to a velvet black box that had remained hidden in his nightstand since his last eventful trip to the beach, nearly a year ago. Annie was here, and she was wearing his shirt, and she filled him with so much happiness. They'd long ago left behind Rachel's lies and accusations. It was the right moment. It had to be. "Annie?" he asked.

She studied his face, which had suddenly grown a bit nervous. "Yeah, baby?"

He smiled a little at her term of endearment. She'd taken to calling him that lately, and he couldn't help but smile, every time she said it. He reached into the top drawer of the nightstand, withdrawing the box and hiding it against the outside of his leg. "I need to talk to you about something, okay? Can you not freak out?"

She nodded. "What is it?"

He fingered the box at his leg. "I didn't know if you would freak out on me if I tried to take you all the way to the beach again," he said, grinning. He took her hands into his. He could picture her, kneeling before him on his bed, adorably dressed in his dress short, hair mussed from sleep. "Annie, when everything ended on that beach almost a year ago, I thought my life was over. I'm nobody without you—you fill my life with so much goodness and joy—"

Annie's squeal filled the apartment. "Auggie!" Her high-pitched voice, only a few inches from his ears, made him cringe. "Auggie, is this what I—"

He laughed and held a finger to his lips. "Shhh. You're gonna ruin it."

"Pshh," she huffed. "I'll ruin nothing." She freed her hands to cup his face, and she leaned in for a kiss. It was short, but full and beautiful, and, as their lips touched, he knew everything she was feeling. It only fueled his decision.

When she pulled away, staring with happy wonder back at him, he rolled his eyes playfully. "See? You ruined my speech."

He laughed, and she rolled her eyes. He reached up and caressed her cheek gently. He wished he could stare into her eyes. "Gah, you're beautiful," he whispered. After an electrifying, sweet, beautiful, happy, pregnant moment, he handed her the velvet box and whispered, "Annie, will you marry me?"

Her high-pitched squealing filled the air again as she launched herself into his arms, throwing her arms around his neck. "Auggieeeee! Yessss!"

She was squeezing the life out of his neck, but he didn't seem to care. He held Annie tight against him, loving the way she smelled like lavender, grapefruit, and baby powder first thing in the morning. He inched her back, just a little, and he framed her face with his hands, his fingers slipping into her soft blond hair. "Yes?"

She nodded her head violently, glad he could appreciate what she was doing without having to say any words. She wasn't sure she could say anything at the moment, anyway.

She lifted the lid of the box, gasping when she saw the ring. Silver, with a shimmering, beautiful diamond, with an aquamarine on each side. She pulled the ring out of the box, and placed it in Auggie's hand. Instinctively, he knew what she wanted, and he slipped the ring onto her ring finger.

She studied the ring on her finger, beaming from ear to ear. "I love it, Auggie."

He grinned and leaned in, capturing her lips in another sweet, passionate kiss. As she pulled away a few inches and touched her forehead to his, he soaked up everything about this moment—the feel of Annie's skin and her silky blond hair, the way her happy laughter sent a thrill of pure joy up his spine, the way he felt like he was on an adrenaline high from one simple, beautiful word. _Yes._

He didn't know it was possible to feel this happy.

He reached up and caressed her cheek, her soft hair tickling his wrist. Annie was perfect. "I love you."

Annie grinned in reply. "I love you, too."

Annie pulled away and glanced at Auggie sheepishly. She leaned in to kiss him one more time, quickly, and she whispered, "Wait here." She slid off the bed and ran into the next room, where she'd left her purse the night before.

When she returned, she climbed onto the bed, in front of him, and, grinning wide, she said, "Hold out your hand."

He frowned quizzically, but he did as she asked. When he felt a velvety box, he groaned. "Annie, I thought you said yes this time!"

She rolled her eyes. "I did. See?" She placed her hand in his, so he could feel the perfect silver engagement ring on her finger.

He visibly relaxed at that. "What's this, then?" he asked, pulling her against his side.

She slid her arms around him, resting her chin on his shoulder, and she said, "Open it."

He did, discovering a simple, silver band. He looked confused, so she said, "I wanted to make sure you knew that this time, I wasn't gonna let you go."

His eyebrows rose in surprise. "Annie—you were going to propose to me?"

She giggled into his shoulder, and he loved the sound. "I guess we both had the same idea."

He reached out and crooked his arm around her shoulders. "C'mere," he whispered, still in awe of this woman. _She was marrying him?_ After everything he'd been through in the past year, he could hardly believe it, but he would never let her go.

He kissed her, long and slow, and when he pulled away, he stroked her cheek softly and offered her a smile. Her arms were wrapped around his neck loosely, and he could imagine that sunny smile that everyone talked about.

When he'd met Annie for the first time nearly four years ago, he never would have guessed that life would have taken this path, but here, holding his fiancée in their bed, he couldn't help but know he wouldn't have it any other way.

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><p><strong>AN:** Please review!


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